DnB Asset Management AS Sells 37,923 Shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

DnB Asset Management AS cut its holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,325,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,923 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson comprises approximately 0.8% of DnB Asset Management AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. DnB Asset Management AS owned about 0.06% of Johnson & Johnson worth $191,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Johnson & Johnson during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:JNJ opened at $163.22 on Friday. Johnson & Johnson has a 12-month low of $140.68 and a 12-month high of $169.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $158.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.47.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.05. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. The firm had revenue of $22.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Johnson & Johnson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JNJ has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Johnson & Johnson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.33.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of Johnson & Johnson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total transaction of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,483,645.88. This trade represents a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Company Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.